Elected Officials' Responsibility

Sunday

Jun 29, 2008 at 2:51 PM

All too often elected officials fall all over themselves when they hear the words "jobs" and "tax revenue." They are so eager to claim victory in their political pursuits that they consistantly fail to find out what the consequences may be of bussinesses wanting to operate in our coastal region.
Citizens must then drop what they are doing, put their lives on partial hold, so they can organize to go after and discover the truth about the environmental and quality of life impacts that will be made on the land and the people from these new business ventures.
This holds true for Hugo Neu, the proposed container port at Southport and the Titan cement plant.
All elected officials must evaluate the full complement of every cost and benefit for the proposed business before they take a position and certainly before they vote. It is their responsibility to be fully informed and most have failed us miserably.
The lure of jobs and tax revenue should never be tolerated if harm or destruction of this special region is the ultimate outcome. Short term gain with long term pain is pure folly. And if the elected political people would do their jobs more effectively, then the citizens would be able to get back to being just citizens. How wonderful that would be!Celeste PlassmanSouthport, NC